I thought this was interesting. Someone I know who was a total Attitude Era casual fan and doesn't watch anymore told me recently that wrestling came up at work and people were talking about why they don't watch anymore. Everyone complained about commercial breaks during matches. Generally speaking, is this something that bugs you or has bugged you in the past? Have you heard other people complain about this too? I thought this was interesting because it's the perfect example of something someone inside the wrestling bubble doesn't give much thought, but I could see it being annoying for people who feel like they're missing something because of a commercial break.

 

I didn't say "With the new WWE app, you can see what is happening during the breaks", because I would have felt like I was in a commercial.

When I first started watching again in 2004 (after not having watched since late 2001) it was the most striking difference to me and I really disliked it. At this point, it doesn't really bother me at all. Of course I'd rather see a match uncut but I feel totally inured to it.

This used to be a decent sized problem for me. I would end up thinking "That was really good BUT WHAT DID I MISS?!" I've gotten passed that but it took awhile.

They never had any commercials during the Attitude Era because the TV matches were so short. I don't mind commercial breaks, though I like how the occur when someone is sent outside the ring.

Ad breaks or clipping of matches definitely affect my enjoyment. There is the element of 'what did I miss?' Stalling and resting would often be the answer, but I'd still prefer to see it. More than that it's the disruption to the flow of the match that bothers me. Even if the footage is spliced together then I can find it hard to get back to where I was before the interruption.

It usually doesn't hurt much. I often don't notice it. But it can mess with the timing of the match for obvious reasons. I presume that I don't miss much when it happens on Raw, but there is always the element of "but what DID happen?"

I genuinely hate it when we go to break with say Sheamus getting knocked to the floor, and then we come back from break and he's in the ring giving somebody a backbreaker. Michael Cole isn't exactly going to tie together the momentum shift.

 

Although that's not nearly as bad as a San Jose Smackdown taping we attended, with the good-on-paper main event of Eddy vs. Booker T. Problem was without the constraint of being live, they inserted 4 commercial breaks into the match (on TV they only ended up using three, but must have filmed an extra depending on how the time of the edited show was running). We could tell every time it was on a commercial because the ref would lean in to Booker, and Booker would grab a 3 minute chin lock. Then the ref would lean in and they'd go back to working the match. This happened FOUR TIMES. The match was interminable.

 

TV version was better and cut to about 16 minutes (still maybe Eddy's weakest TV main event of that whole run) but live it was over 30 and just horrendous.

I'm not a fan of them. It's just something that seems to always have been there. So you just get used to it.

To this day, as someone who has worked in TV and produced shows, I'll never understand how they can't time out a taped show with commercial breaks where the break comes back right after a break in the action. I understand they like the WWE app, but man alive. It has always bugged me.

yeah, I don't get why you'd need commercial break stalling for a taped show. Just find spots for a break, snip a few seconds and then come back and don't ask questions.

 

Has some person with too much free time figured out how many more breaks have been used for matches since Raw went to 3 hours?

They did do commercial breaks during matches back in the SMNE days though.

 

My mind immediately goes to Randy Savage vs. George Steele.

"Best of Rest Holds" Coming soon, a 3 disc DVD of the best stuff you missed during commercial breaks!

I remember when I used to share a place with a friend, I'd watch RAW with him, and it infuriated him that they went to a break mid match. It completely soured him to the rest of the show. I think people who have watched for a number of years have simply gotten used to it, but as evidence by this, I guess it can turn people off the show quickly in some cases.

Exactly, that's my point. That it's one of those things newer or more casual fans hate that we've just gotten used to because we've watched wrestling forever.

Didn't they also do it in Crockett, Charles?

 

I think there's a good kayfabe rationale for it: why would a match just stop when you get to commercial break? And why would matches be timed to commercial breaks? That's as good as saying "this is choreographed". I think broadly, I'm not against commercial breaks in matches because it adds to the verisimilitude.

They did also do it in Crockett, yes. Fans also complained at the time about marquee matches starting as the show was going off the air in the JCP days, where you'd get not only no finish but no mention of the match or the finish on the next show. That was fairly common then too, but then again, house shows were core business then. Television is core business now.

 

Anyway, television shows are scheduled to the point now where I don't think it would be difficult to at the very least not do commercial breaks during the main event, just to say that they've fulfilled all their commercial obligations prior to the main event starting. I'm not really against it either, but I do think it's something people who aren't as accustomed to wrestling tropes are turned off by that people who are accustomed to wrestling tropes simply don't give enough thought. I'm sure there are other things like that as well.

What bothers me is that they no longer promise to show me the conclusion if the match ends during the commercial.

Have they ever gone to break in the middle of a 20-minute HHH promo?

I know that the wrestlers know that they're going to commercial break. That makes me think they're not going to do anything too cool while off the air. It doesn't bother me.

 

What does bother me, is that I've become Pavlov's dog with my remote. I don't even realize I'm starting to fast-forward until I'm doing it. Dude gets thrown from the ring, Cole's tone of voice changes, and there I go.

 

For a company that really does have top-notch production, they can be really lazy with stuff like that.

Have they ever gone to break in the middle of a 20-minute HHH promo?

God forbid we miss a second of that

Frankly, so long as they reply the transitions we miss, I'm generally okay with it. The flip side, after all, is not getting long matches.

Frankly, so long as they reply the transitions we miss, I'm generally okay with it. The flip side, after all, is not getting long matches.

 

You've always got the WWE App if particularly in to a specific match.

I genuinely hate it when we go to break with say Sheamus getting knocked to the floor, and then we come back from break and he's in the ring giving somebody a backbreaker. Michael Cole isn't exactly going to tie together the momentum shift.

 

Although that's not nearly as bad as a San Jose Smackdown taping we attended, with the good-on-paper main event of Eddy vs. Booker T. Problem was without the constraint of being live, they inserted 4 commercial breaks into the match (on TV they only ended up using three, but must have filmed an extra depending on how the time of the edited show was running). We could tell every time it was on a commercial because the ref would lean in to Booker, and Booker would grab a 3 minute chin lock. Then the ref would lean in and they'd go back to working the match. This happened FOUR TIMES. The match was interminable.

 

TV version was better and cut to about 16 minutes (still maybe Eddy's weakest TV main event of that whole run) but live it was over 30 and just horrendous.

Great point. Watching a live Raw show in person when they cut to a commercial during a match can be unbearable. Makes it hard to suspend disbelief.

 

Like everybody else I've just gotten used to it at this point. Commercial breaks are nothing compared to cutting the main event during the JCP or UWF days. That drove me crazy.

With WWE pushing themselves more as live sport's programming, then getting rid of commercial breaks during matches would make sense, because I can't think of any other sport doing similar (or a drama going to a break mid-scene), which is likely why it drives people crazy.

Even doing it for just main events would keep main events special, if they felt they couldn't swing it for the entire show.